A Strange Familiar World
by Animorphgirl
Summary: Almost 100% AU.  Kate and Sawyer are foster siblings being raised by...you'll have to read it to find out!  Lots of fluff, some angst, romance in later chapters. Onto chapter 4!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost. The show, and the characters used in this fanfic, are the property of ABC. I'm not making money off of this story, so please don't sue.

Inside the room, the bed was warm. The covers were soft. The pillows, despite being slept on for the past nine and a half hours, were still relatively fluffy.

Unfortunately, under the covers lay a very sick little girl. Normally, she'd be up as soon as her alarm sounded, but today it was an effort just to turn off the alarm. She yawned, coughed into her hand, and then wiped the hand along her nightgown.

She hated feeling this yucky.

Footsteps. Hovering outside her room. Ordinarily, Katie would be up when she head these, or at least getting ready to get up. She wasn't the type to sleep in.

Usually.

It was just that her throat ached, her head hurt, and her stomach felt like it had been twisted into knots and then drained of fluid.

It was that time of the year. She always got the flu in mid March. Right before spring. Her old mom thought it was related to her tonsils, but the last time they had been to the doctor, he had said that they didn't need to be taken out.

She supposed that was good, since taking them out would mean an operation and lots of soreness afterwards. But it would also mean no more sore throats, and that meant her current one would be long gone.

There was a quick rapping on her door. "Katie, it's time for breakfast!"

"Umph," was the response. She couldn't eat. She could drink some water, maybe, but food would make her sicker.

Another knock, at least twice as loud this time.

"Time to get up!" called the increasingly familiar voice. Still cheerful, not annoyed yet.

"Mmph," was the barely audible reply.

"I'm coming in if you don't answer," the voice warned, growing a little edgy. "One…two…" Here she let a long pause pass before adding, "Three!" and an even longer pause before she opened the door.

Loudly. Katie winced. Pulled one of the pillows over her ears to drain out the voice.

The voice hovered in the hallway for a minute, giving Katie one last chance to get out of bed and start getting dressed. It looked like the voice had merely gained a shadow as the door opened. A pleasant faced blonde hovered in the doorway for a minute. Upon realizing Katie wasn't about to budge, she heaved a heavy sigh—which the other girl did not hear—and walked over towards the bed and pulled one of the blankets away from Katie's face.

Her plan had been to strip the bed entirely, but Katie must have anticipated this and hung on as though her life depended on it. The one blanket fell on the floor, looking rather weak.

Katie rolled over on her side, securing the already tightly wrapped blankets around her further.

"Katie, I don't have time for this," the woman said, standing over her. "Your brother's already dressed and brushed his teeth. You don't want to be late for school. Dad's already left for work, and I don't have time to drive you."

Katie poked her head from under the blankets. "I can't go to school today, Mommy. I'm sick."

Katie never faked being sick, but she also hadn't been living with the blonde for more than a few months. Besides, she didn't have the energy to explain that she _always_ got sick this time of year. And there hadn't been any reason to mention it in the previous weeks in case the flu skipped a year. Or she outgrew it, like a pair of old sneakers.

Hair fell in Katie's face as the woman touched her forehead. She wrinkled her nose to avoid sneezing.

"Ooh, honey, you _are_ burning up." There was no need for a thermometer. She knew fevers all too well to know that Katie wasn't faking. Even if she didn't have a temperature, she looked horrible. Sweat poured over her too pale face. Her voice sounded weak.

No, Katie definitely would not be going to school that day.

The impatient voice took on its gentle tone again. "Where does it hurt?"

"All over. I can't swallow real good," Katie added.

The woman nodded. "Well, you certainly aren't going to school today. I'm just going to check who's on the schedule and see if I can't come in later…"

"Mom, where are my red socks?"

A twelve year old boy with sandy blonde hair entered the room, completely dressed except barefoot.

"They're on the dryer. I did the socks last night," she replied absently.

"Why's Katie still in bed?" he asked. "Is she dying?"

"Yes."

Juliet rolled her eyes as she brushed some hair out of Katie's face. "You're not going to die, sweetie." To the boy, she explained, "She's not feeling too well. Can you tell the principal that she won't be in school today?"

"Mo-om, we're in different buildings on different streets."

"That's right. I forgot." She ran a hand through her hair. "I'll call the principal." She sat up quickly. "Honey, did you finish your breakfast?"

He nodded, crossing over to Katie. She nudged her head toward him like a cat. "Are you going to get her a babysitter?"

"Not at 7:30 in the morning. I'll just call my secretary and tell her to reschedule my patients." Her nose wrinkled involuntarily. "It was only supposed to be a half day…"

"I can do it," he volunteered, taking over Juliet's job of getting Katie's hair out of her face. Katie managed a smile at this suggestion. "Can he, mommy?"

Juliet shook her head. "Absolutely not. You'll miss school, Jamie."

His eyes narrowed at the nickname. Unwilling to start a fight, Juliet quickly apologized.

"You don't want to get behind," Juliet amended. "The last thing you'll want to do this weekend is catch up with all the work you missed today."

"Mom, it's not like I'll be missing anything important. I mean," he added, before she could go off on some rant about how school was always important, how grades were everything, how a single bad grade would keep him out of his first choice college…"all I have before lunch is a double period of gym, art, and study hall. When you get back from work, I can take the late bus. I'd get there _before_ the end of lunch."

"He's good at babysitting," croaked Katie, now making an effort to sit up in bed.

Juliet pressed her lips together, a sign that she was seriously considering the situation.

"Your lunch ends at 1:00? And you're _sure_ you'd get there by then?"

"Yeah. Kids do it all the time." He gave Katie a look she knew all too well. It meant that he wasn't telling the whole truth, but she better not say anything or else he'd get caught.

Usually, it was the look he used when he gave (or, more accurately, stole) her extra cookies at the foster home.

"All right. I'll go in right now, and I'll get home by 12:30. What time does the bus come?"

"12:35."

Juliet smiled. "That would be a big help, James. I hope it's just a bug, but at least it's Friday." She bent over and gave Katie a kiss on her forehead, then gave James a quick hug. "There's juice and popsicles downstairs. She can watch TV if she feels up to it. I promise I'll be home soon. I'll stop at the market and pick up some chicken soup. Crackers, too. Would you like that?"

Katie nodded as she repositioned her head on the pillows.

"James, if her throat gets worse, have her gargle with salt water. No milk. Tea's fine—it's in the cabinet above the dryer. Katie, you can get up to go to the bathroom, but I need you to stay in bed. I'm going to have to change your sheets and blankets later…"

Juliet continued speaking, partly to the kids but mostly to herself. "I'll call your father just to let him know. There are more blankets in the hallway closet if she needs any. Katie, I'll give you a bath when I get back. I think that will help." She paused. "I guess that's it. Love you both!"

Katie groaned and rolled over in her bed. James, better known as Sawyer to his friends, tossed his bag on the floor and grabbed the sole defeated blanket. Pulled it over Katie's face teasingly, then plopped on the bed. Narrowly missing Katie's feet. He put a hand over her forehead and then let out a low whistle.

"Whoa, freckles, you really weren't faking!"

The seven year old pulled the blanket down so that she would see and promptly rolled her eyes. "When'd you first guess?"

Normally, that remark would have warranted a tickle attack, but Sawyer knew that he'd have to clean up the vomit. Besides, she really did look sad. And she was nestling next to him, her head on his shoulder. He moved some of her hair out of her face.

"Don't leave," she mumbled as her eyes began to close.

He moved his shoulder slightly and put an arm around her. "I'm right here, freckles," he said, just loudly enough for her to hear him.


	2. Chapter 2

The story of how Dr. Juliet Burke and Dr. Jack Shepherd came to adopt a seven year old foster child and a twelve year old orphan was one that few people would be able to guess at. Herself infertile, Juliet loved children and had been planning to adopt as soon as her own doctor gave her the traumatic news that Juliet's chances of conceiving and carrying a child for the full nine months (without bed rest and thousands of dollars spent on crippling medications which may give her cancer).

Jack had wanted kids too. At some point. They had met in medical school, being in the same year, and gotten married halfway through their residency. At the wedding, Jack had been thirty-three and Juliet had just turned thirty-one. Their intention regarding children was to wait until their residencies were completed. Juliet had been thirty-four by the time she was finished, and Jack thirty-six. It was still early enough to have at least one child, and more if things went well after the birth. Juliet would be able to see what kind of a toll pregnancy would take on her work life, and whether it was practical to stop at one or try to have more. Or even, though she considered this a last resort, have a few children and give up work. Temporarily, of course. So, thirty-four was young enough to avoid the risk factors associated with later pregnancies. Specifically, thirty-five and up. As a fertility doctor, Juliet knew that she'd do no one a favor by waiting.

They had purchased a cat shortly after their honeymoon. This had been Juliet's idea. A cat would be easy enough to take care of and would give them some sense of what it would be like to have a small child in the house. Weren't pet owners always referring to their pets as their children? Frisky, named so by her previous owners, had been a two year old rescue. The previous owners had given Frisky to an animal shelter after their daughter was found to be nearly deathly allergic to cats. Frisky ended up being a good addition to the Shepherd household, having already been trained.

Having children proved to be significantly more difficult. They tried for a year before going to the specialist. That was when Juliet got the bad news. Or, as she put it, the Bad News. She was infertile. It had nothing to do with waiting, the doctors emphasized. She just couldn't have kids. Something was wrong with her womb. She could conceive, but she would never be able to carry a child to term. Her body just wouldn't work in that way.

Juliet, more than Jack, was devastated by the news. Partly to appease her, Jack agreed to look into adoption. There were plenty of babies who didn't have parents, weren't there? They'd have their pick.

A neighbor told them, after another six months of searching, that they'd do better looking into becoming foster parents. Told them around a foster home just an hour away. Technically, it was two homes, but wanted the stress of taking in a teenager. The official division was thirteen and up in one home, twelve and under in another home.

Katie was one of the few truly young kids. Most of the kids were pre teens, overlooked by visiting families because they weren't cute little kids. Truth be told, they wouldn't have seen James Ford if the two hadn't been practically joined at the hip.

It was an unlikely pairing. One of the social workers explained that Sawyer—as everyone called him—had been at the home for two years. Just after his grandfather died. Katherine Anne Austen, better known as Katie, arrived after a teacher discovered that she had been physically abused by her birth father. There was also some suspicion, mostly on the part of the teacher, that Katie had been sexually abused. There was no way to prove this without putting Katie through significant physical trauma. She claimed, later, to have no memory of sexual abuse, but it was possible that these memories had been blocked out. In any event, there _was_ clear evidence of physical abuse, and the fact that Katie's mother refused to deal with the situation—added to the fact that her only other potential guardian, a stepfather, was deemed an inappropriate choice of guardian—meant that Katie was sent to a foster home shortly after her seventh birthday.

The "best" foster home was located in another state, but the judge handling Katie's case had heard good things about the home and had sent other abused children there. There were two buildings, one for children twelve and under, the second one being ages thirteen thru eighteen. At least half of the children there did not have serious psychological problems but were simply the children who had not been adopted. Or, if they had been adopted, it hadn't worked out for one reason or another. There were a few kids there who had parents in prison or in rehab, but those were in the minority. It was, in short, a safe and relatively normal place for kids like Kate, who had been victims of abuse, and Sawyer, who had no remaining family members.

There were always more people in the teen house, as it was called, than the kid house. Unless the teen was waiting for relatives, his or her chances of adoption were fairly small by the time they reached thirteen. Sawyer was closer to thirteen than twelve when Kate entered the kid house, but he was technically within the younger age bracket and, besides, the kid house had more resources at the moment. Some employees would admit, if pressed, that thirteen and even fourteen year olds _could_ be moved to the kid house if the teen house became too crowded. It wasn't exactly desirable, because the teens were more likely to have behavioral and drug problems, but it was still a valid option. The owners of Safe Place were working to obtain grant money to build a second teen house, but this project had been in the making since Sawyer first arrived at age nine.

After Sawyer's parents died, at age seven, he lived with his grandparents in their trailer. None of the Fords had been particularly well off, but his father's side had done better than his mother's side. Unfortunately, it was his mother's parents who were alive to take care of Sawyer.

Older than the parents of most of Sawyer's friends, his grandparents were prone to health problems. His grandmother died roughly six months after he moved in, and his grandfather was only able to hold on for another year and a half after that. It was fortunate that Sawyer's neighbors were aware of the situation and, by the time Sawyer's grandfather was near death, there was always someone bringing over food or checking in on him. None of them felt particularly obligated to Sawyer, mostly because he was fairly rude and disrespectful. The foster home was located less than an hour from the trailer, so one of the neighbors cared enough to make sure Sawyer had an official place to live.

Few adults knew how Sawyer and Katie became friends. Only that about a week after Katie entered Safe Place, she seemed to be with Sawyer at all times. Sawyer more or less tolerated her in front of the adults, and his toleration appeared to grow into a caring friendship over the course of a month or so. Katie was the youngest child at Safe Place when she arrived, not wholly unusual for the shelter. Sawyer was the oldest, by over a year, and it had been a few months since new kids arrived. He was probably curious about Katie, a quiet but unusually stubborn child who hated being touched and was plagued by nightmares.

"Why are you screaming?" he asked the first time he was woken up by them. He wore a pair of oversized green pajamas, donated by some charity, and his sandy blonde hair was disheveled from sleep.

Katie, dressed in a white nightgown, pulled the covers closer to her.

"None of your business," she shot back, glaring. "Get outta here."

He tried to hide his surprise at a girl almost half his age bossing him around.

"Well, freckle face, you're gonna wake everyone up if you don't shut it," was his reply.

The second time, he stayed in the doorway. Heard her crying and rocking herself. Pulling the covers around her tightly, even though it wasn't _that_ cold out.

She didn't notice him right away, and when she did, she gave Sawyer a fierce glare.

"What do _you_ want?" she practically hissed.

"Just checking to see if you're still alive," was his half hearted comeback.

"Hmph."

Sawyer remained in the doorway. "There are more blankets in the hallway closet. They won't care if you take them," he suggested cautiously.

Katie just stared at him, arms folded around her chest. "Who said I was cold?"

"Fine, I'm leaving."

The third time was the loudest. Sawyer was surprised that no one else had been awoken.

He came in with one of the aforementioned blankets, figuring at least he'd have an excuse this time. He'd sneaked a look at her room the next day, but the bed looked normal, so she obviously hadn't taken his advice. Sawyer felt vaguely annoyed that Katie had ignored him, but he tried not to care too much. She was just some six year old crybaby. Probably missed her parents.

She was buried in a ball of covers, sheets mixed in with blankets and the customary quilt provided in all rooms. She kind of looked like she was drowning.

The extra blanket he carried seemed unnecessary, so he just wrapped it around himself and sat down in the chair next to her bed. All of the rooms had one, in case one of the shelter workers had to talk to the kids. They were kind of like rocking chairs, but not as comfortable. Like whoever built them gave up halfway through and figured they were good enough for foster kids. Built for adult bodies, not kids, so if Katie had been sitting there, there was no way her legs would touch the ground.

Sawyer's legs barely reached the floor.

He just sat there for a few minutes, feeling increasingly stupid by the second. What was he thinking, anyway? Just because Katie seemed to follow him around at meals didn't mean that she liked him. Why, it could be because he was more than a head taller than her and could reach the food more easily.

That was probably the reason, he decided. It had nothing to do with actually liking Sawyer. He was just convenient.

He supposed he couldn't blame her. He'd only been nine when he entered Safe Place, and it had felt pretty alien and scary. It would be worse for a five year old.

Or was she six? She was short, so it was too hard to tell. Especially at night.

So he just sat there, not saying anything, and gradually the tears stopped, and Katie sat up in bed and tried to fix the covers. Sawyer stood up, figuring the best way of making a semi decent impression (on any adult who came by, not on Katie) was to help her.

And it just made sense to tuck her in after that was all finished. And her hair was in her face, so he moved it away. Katie didn't audibly protest to either.

He went back to the chair until he was sure she was asleep. Because the last thing he needed was for her to almost be asleep, wake up from some nightmare, and start screaming because Sawyer wasn't there.

Even though that was unlikely.

It took some effort to get out of the chair and go back to his bedroom. But that was because it was late and his foot was falling asleep. And because Katie could still wake up at any minute.

She slept through the night, though. Must have, because Sawyer wasn't woken up by any more screams.

The next day, she smiled at him as he handed her what he recognized to be her favorite cereal. Cheerios. And grabbed an extra milk container for her, since it was pretty high up on the shelf. No way she'd be able to reach it.

And a banana, because growing kids needed fruit and she seemed to like those more than apples.

They didn't say anything as they ate their breakfast together, but Sawyer thought he saw Katie smile at him at one point.

The next time Katie woke up from a nightmare, Sawyer was there, standing awkwardly over her bed in the same blanket.

"Stay with me," she pleaded, moving to the edge of her bed.

Sawyer sat on the chair, but moved it closer to the bed. Held Katie's hand as she fell asleep. A few weeks later, in the middle of the day, Sawyer was reading a book on one of the couches when Katie crept up next to him. Stretched out, and fell asleep against his shoulder. When he put down his book, his arm wrapped around her shoulder, repositioning Katie so that she'd be more comfortable.

As though it were no big deal.

The shelter workers smiled, the idea that the two were close cementing in their minds. How sweet, that the abused little girl and the orphan boy had developed a brother-sister bond. They loved that sort of thing, encouraged it. Found Sawyer extra books that he might enjoy from the library. Also, picture books that he could read to Katie. If he felt so inclined. There were never any verbal expectations.

Also, a few of the shelter workers gave them extra treats. They tried not to be conspicuous. If Katie was practicing her reading, one of them might show up with a plate of graham crackers and two glasses of orange juice.

"In case your voice gets tired," one would explain, smiling encouragingly at Sawyer as though to say, "They're yours, too."

Sawyer worried that other kids would find out and get jealous, but the shelter workers were smart. The extra attention was administered when other kids weren't there, to all of the kids, or in such a way that the kids saw nothing unusual about it.

Maybe it was favoritism, but of the ten kids who currently lived at Safe Place, none had been abused or been orphans.

Also, who's to say they didn't get special treatment in other ways? Maybe that was how the workers acted with everyone else. Neither had paid much attention beforehand. Sawyer had been lost in his own world. Lost in books.

At any rate, the two did not make any enemies.

When Juliet came down, Jack behind her and trying to look enthusiastic, the shelter workers introduced them to all of the other kids first. Maybe they wanted to keep Katie and Sawyer for a little longer. Maybe it was overcompensation. They made it clear that Katie and Sawyer had a brother-sister bond. They were not related by blood, but Katie had latched onto Sawyer as soon as she arrived at Safe Place. It was easy to see that Sawyer felt protective of her.

The shelter workers must have found out about Katie's nightmares, and moved Sawyer to the room next door to her. So he could hear her more easily before the rest of the staff did. They didn't seem to care if they found Sawyer sleeping next to her, over the covers. She was always curled up next to him as though he were some giant, protective stuffed animal. Privately, some members of the staff referred to Sawyer in this state as Katie's Sawyer Bear.

At first, Juliet had only wanted to adopt Katie. Sawyer was too old, and seemed too stubborn. This was ironic, because Katie could go without talking to someone for days if she got mad at them. She usually got her way with Sawyer when they played games. With a few compromises on his part. Three games of Candyland, one game of Monopoly, and whatnot.

Katie flat out refused to go without Sawyer. The staff reported that the Shepherds could not take Katie unless she was willing to go. Jack, who had initially been ambivalent about the whole adoption idea, spent more time with Sawyer as they wavered on whether to adopt both or look around for another child entirely. Jack ended up developing a closer bond with Sawyer that Juliet's, reinforced by the assumption that a boy would be able to do things like play baseball and watch sports on TV. Juliet would always leave the room when a game was on, and Katie would probably take after her. In a basic way, even though both adults cared for both children, Sawyer was Jack's kid and Katie Juliet's.

It didn't quite work out in the easy way the adults had expected.


	3. Chapter 3

After Sawyer was sure that Katie was asleep, he left the bedroom to get his backpack. He hadn't finished _all_ of his homework from the night before, and had been counting on the study hall to get it done.

Sixth grade had been pretty easy so far. He and Katie had gone to live with Juliet and Jack towards the middle of May. They had to transfer to other schools, but since the year was practically over, his new parents decided he could redo sixth grade and Katie could start in first grade. The only real problem with that arrangement meant that the two wouldn't be in the same building. Katie would be in Elementary School, and Sawyer would attend Middle School. But this would have been true even if Sawyer had fought to move to seventh grade.

Most of the stuff was review. He hadn't been a great student, but his grades had been good enough to pass. Now, practically without trying, Sawyer was getting mostly B's and, occasionally, a couple of A's. Paying attention in class and doing the homework let him get away with not studying much for tests. Truth be told, he mostly rushed through his homework and didn't always pay attention in class. But he looked like he was working reasonably hard, and his grades were fine, so neither his teachers nor his parents complained.

Sometimes, Sawyer slacked off with the homework. They'd been getting more lately, with the warning that they'd have to take final exams for the first time in June. Sawyer never spent more than an hour on his work, and this meant he was relying more on his daily study hall period to get the rest finished.

Except today, he wouldn't have that time to work. Not that it mattered—Mrs. Watson rarely did more than check to see if students did the science homework, and Mr. Kinsberg said you didn't have to finish _all_ of the math problems as long as you had done most of them, and all of those correctly. But he did have one chapter to read for English, and he was supposed to make a "life timeline" for history. This meant picking three historical events that happened while he was alive, and writing a paragraph for each about why they mattered.

It was a dumb assignment. Who cared about the election of the president from three years ago? The only interesting things were the wars, but it wasn't like Sawyer had parents who fought in them. They didn't make a big difference in his normal life. He figured he'd do that assignment last.

Ten minutes later, Sawyer reappeared in Katie's room with his books opened to the right pages. She had a small desk (pink) and chair (the princess kind), so he set the school materials down and started to read. Every so often, he cast a glance at Katie, but she was still sleeping.

_Poor kid._ She'd been sick once at the foster home, earlier that fall. Low fever, sore throat, and shook like crazy. It was also when some of her worse nightmares had appeared. Sawyer would hear her scream stuff like, "No, don't touch me!" He'd known that she was at the foster home because at least one of her parents hit her, but this seemed to go deeper. He'd heard the workers say that Katie might have forgotten some things. Maybe the fever brought it back.

He didn't ask her about it because he didn't feel like it was any of his business. If Katie wanted to talk about it, she'd bring it up. She'd spoken to him about personal stuff before. But either she forgot that she remembered or it had been some kind of a nightmare.

Now, Sawyer wondered if the second fever would bring on the same thing again. He hoped that their parents wouldn't be the ones to hear it. They might think Katie was more damaged than they had known. Might want to send her back.

If they did, he'd go too. Of course. It was up to him to protect Katie.

No one had ever told this to him, but it seemed to be implied. Why else would the foster workers try to encourage their friendship? Sawyer hadn't been able to protect his mom from his dad. He had to protect Katie, partly as a way to make up for it, but mostly because he cared about her and wouldn't let anything happen to her. He'd go where she'd go.

Right now, though, Katie was sleeping pretty soundly. Her head poked out of the blankets and he could hear her breathing, a mix between regular breaths and slightly ragged ones. When she had spoken earlier, her nose sounded stuffy. Maybe this was just a bug. Not like before. Maybe she'd be okay by the next day.

They had wanted to build a tree house over the weekend, and their dad had promised to go to Home Depot and get the tools. Had said he'd help them, if they wanted.

About an hour passed before Katie woke up. Sawyer, finished with the reading and onto the history assignment, was at her side in a matter of seconds.

"You okay, freckles?" he asked, smoothing back her hair.

She made a pitiful face, eyes squinted like she was trying to see something through bright light.

"It hurts," she whined. "Can I have some juice?"

"Sure thing, freckles," he promised, planting a kiss on her forehead before leaving the room.

On his way out, he heard Katie say crossly, "_That_ won't make it any better!"

He made a scoffing sound. Katie's sarcasm came out especially loudly when she was tired, hungry, or (apparently) not feeling well.

Juliet and Jack kept a lot of food in the house. Much more than Sawyer's grandparents, whose diet consisted mostly of plain, unsalted food. Snacks were rare, except on the occasion that Sawyer's grandfather brought home a pint of pistachio ice cream from the store. Juliet and Jack either had major sweet teeth, or heard that kids liked sweets before they adopted Sawyer and Katie. A lot of the snacks went unopened, and were probably stale by now.

He found four different types of juice in the refrigerator. Two kinds of orange juice—one with pulp and one without pulp. At least a gallon of apple juice, three quarters full. Grape juice, half empty. Cranberry juice, too, but the label covered most of it so Sawyer couldn't see how much was left. Katie would probably want grape juice or apple juice. He took two glasses from the high cabinets and filled each one with its own drink. Then, he found a tray under one of the stove cabinets and placed them on it. Got some paper plates from another cabinet. Thinking that Katie might be hungry, he rummaged around the snack drawers for crackers. Took an apple from the fruit bowl. Though wasn't apple juice with an apple kind of overkill?

Sawyer settled on graham crackers and saltines. Katie was supposed to gargle with salt water, so the salt on the crackers had to count for something.

Carrying all this up took some work. Mostly because the glasses were the heaviest parts, and threw him off balance. He made it to Katie's room without spilling anything, and popped one of the saltines into his mouth before she could see it. She rolled over in bed.

"Got your food," said Sawyer.

Katie gingerly placed the tray in her lap and took a sip of juice. "Thanks."

Sawyer wasn't sure what else to do. He'd never taken care of Katie when she was sick. Or anyone, for that matter. He sat down, awkwardly, in the pink oversized chair beside her bed. Katie continued drinking the juice and nibbling on the food. When she'd eaten as much as she wanted, Sawyer took the tray for her and put it on the table. He'd clean it up later.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

Katie shrugged and yawned. "A little."

"You're still tired?" Sawyer couldn't help but ask.

"I couldn't sleep last night," Katie explained.

"'Cause you were sick?"

"And the nightmares."

Ohh. That explained it. Well, kind of.

"Want to talk about it?" Sawyer asked in what he hoped was his "gentle voice".

Katie squirmed. "I know he was mean to me and hit me. I don't want to remember the rest, and I usually don't, but it comes out in bad dreams."

Sawyer moved from the chair to her bed. Instantly, she was curled up against him. "What do you remember when you're dreaming about him, freckles?"

"He tries to hurt me. Not just hit me," Katie whispered. "I wake up before he does." She paused for a minute, then added, "I can feel him in my dreams. He's _there_."

Sawyer put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. She huddled closer into his chest. He let her.

"He's not here now, Katie. He's in jail. You're safe," he tried to reassure.

"I hate dreaming about him," Katie replied, her voice muffled by Sawyer's shirt.

Sawyer sighed. He knew that Jack and Juliet had been talking about family therapy. Or just sending him and Katie off to it. From what he could tell, it meant talking to a stranger for an hour every week or so. Apparently, this was supposed to help you feel better.

It sounded dumb to Sawyer. Why would he go to a stranger and tell him (or her) his problems?

But what was he supposed to say to Katie? From what he definitely knew, her father (or stepfather) had hit her and her mom. On numerous occasions. Had also, probably, made her do other stuff she didn't want to do.

Sawyer knew about the birds and the bees. His uncle had given him "The Talk" shortly after his grandparents died. Said that nine was young to know, but he would rather James get it from a semi responsible adult than kids who were just repeating rumors. It was like he had known that the tumor was going to make it so that he wouldn't live very long.

Based on the way Katie had screamed, and how she forgot a lot of what she thought had happened, and the talk that went on among the staff at Safe Place, her stepfather had either made her have sex with him or had gone pretty close. His uncle had said that sex was supposed to be between two adults who were old enough to know what could happen (it was, after all, how babies were formed, but a baby didn't form whenever two people had sex) and who wanted to be together for the rest of their lives.

It wasn't supposed to be between a seven year old girl and her stepfather. That was beyond gross—that was wrong. Worse, Katie relived it in her nightmares. Because the nightmares weren't just dreams—they were kind of memories of something that had already happened. But they were dreams in the sense that you had the thoughts when you were asleep, and what you dreamed was rarely true in real life.

She had those dreams at least once a week.

Sawyer had dreamed he was a bear enough times to know that dreams weren't totally accurate.

Still, it seemed like something he should tell Juliet and Jack. Because he knew that Katie wouldn't. Maybe she was too scared. Thought that they'd send her back. They only knew the very basics of her home situation before the foster home. Knew almost nothing about Sawyer's, and he intended to keep it that way.

He couldn't ask Katie directly, because if she said no, he wouldn't be able to give the excuse that he didn't know. She'd hate him. Katie had been angry at Sawyer before, had held grudges. Once, she'd gone for over a week without speaking to him. He couldn't even remember what the argument had been about. Or how it had gotten resolved. Just the week with Katie glaring at him, refusing to come near him. Until…had she just gotten tired of being mad?

Sawyer didn't know. He _did_ know that it wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat. He wasn't afraid of Katie. No way. He just didn't want to lose her.

He picked up one of Katie's favorite books—a huge collection of fairy tales. Started to read to her. Was still reading when Juliet got back.

Juliet greeted him with a smile and a long hug. "Thank you, honey," she whispered. "I'll take it from here. You don't want to miss your bus."

He nodded, disengaging himself from Juliet's arms. He didn't mind her affection. He just wasn't used to it. She usually saved it for Katie. Like Sawyer did. As though getting hugs from a new mom would take away what he had from his old one.

The rest of the day went quickly, since Sawyer had missed the first half of it. He turned in his homework, paid attention in class, and took notes as needed. When the day ended, he knew he'd have a fair amount of homework this weekend, but that was nothing new. No study hall on Monday.

Katie and Juliet were nestled together, the book of fairy tales open by her bed. Katie looked so peaceful. She usually did when she was sleeping. He guessed that she wasn't having any more nightmares about her idiot stepdad. Or her useless once mother.

He tugged on Juliet's sleeve. "Mom."

She opened her eyes, stretched, and smiled. "Home already, hon? That was fast."

"How's she doing?"

"Better," Juliet replied, placing a hand on Katie's head. "I think she'll be fine in another day or so. She ate almost all the soup I made her." She smiled down at Katie, who was starting to snore.

Juliet stood up. "You hungry? I can fix you a snack."

Sawyer nodded. "Okay."

Ten minutes later, over a plate of oatmeal raisin cookies and a tall glass of milk, Juliet spoke again.

"How was school?"

Sawyer shrugged, swallowing the piece of cookie he'd been chewing. "It's okay."

"No one minded that you missed the morning part, did they?"

He shook his head. "They were okay."

She nodded again, went over to the fruit bowl, and took out an apple. "Eat this too, all right? It's good for you."

She sat down next to him. Either Sawyer was in some kind of trouble, or his mom was trying to spend quality time with him. Maybe she felt bad that Katie had taken it earlier. Even though it wasn't her fault that she was sick.

Sawyer took a bite of the apple.

"Anything on your mind?" Juliet pressed, speaking in that calm voice she used when she wanted to be reassuring.

"I think…" He paused. Did he really want to do this? Well, no, he didn't _want_ to, but he thought that he had to. "I think that Katie remembers stuff that she forgot." At Juliet's blank look, he clarified, "With what happened with her old parents."

Juliet hadn't been given many details. Mostly because the staff didn't know much for certain. There were marks on Katie's back and arms, so it was easy to see that she'd been beaten. But that was all the foster people knew for sure. The rest was speculation.

Speculation that they did not reveal to potential adoptive parents because it was just that.

But Sawyer had gotten to know Katie pretty well, and she didn't always act like other kids he knew who had been beaten. There was something else. And after the nightmares, it seemed fairly clear that her stepfather had done more than just hit her.

"What do you mean, James?" asked Juliet in her calm, level headed voice.

It was all Sawyer could do not to squirm. Juliet reached out and placed one of her hands over his.

"It's okay, James. Tell me what you think. I won't get mad if you're wrong."

He removed his hand hastily. "I think Katie's stepdad tried to touch her."

Juliet sighed. "The people at the foster home told me they thought this may have happened. Did Katie tell you?"

Sawyer shook his head. "No. I think she doesn't remember most of the time. But she gets bad dreams about him."

Juliet squeezed Sawyer's shoulders. "Thanks for telling me."

"You're not gonna send her back, are you?"

Juliet's eyebrows shot up. "No, of course not. But we may want to get her professional help." At Sawyer's confused expression, she added, "Therapy."

"She won't want to go."

Juliet raised her eyebrows again. "I know," she replied quietly. "I'm going to check on her. Why don't you get started on your homework? I'll be in later to check it over."

Sawyer left the room, wondering if he had just made things worse.


	4. Chapter 4

"They're nice. Not too old." Sawyer took a shot with the ball he'd been dribbling and easily made the basket.

Katie grabbed the ball as it landed on the driveway, took a shot, and missed narrowly. "I don't like them."

"What's not to like?" Sawyer pushed some hair out of his face.

Katie took another shot. Missed. "She's so nice, you can tell it's fake. 'Ohh, what a pretty dress you have on! _Look_, Jack, she can draw a picture of a bunny. Oh my, what pretty hair you have! I bet you'd look so _cute_ if it was in braids.' "

Sawyer hid a laugh. "She wasn't _that_ bad."

Katie threw the orange ball at him. Nearly missing his stomach. "She asked me if I liked Barbies or My Little Pony dolls more."

"It's not her fault she didn't know you don't play with Barbies," Sawyer replied in what he hoped was a diplomatic tone. He tried to hide a grin, but it escaped.

"I'm a _girl_, so of course I play with Barbies. I also want to be a hairdresser when I grow up and have a million babies," she shot back.

"Did you see her husband? He was weird."

"He didn't want to be there," Katie laughed. "You could tell. He hates kids."

"He'll probably lock you in the basement if you don't eat all your peas," Sawyer cautioned.

Peas were one of the few foods Katie couldn't stand. If they were being served with the meal, she'd move them as far away to the edge of her plate as possible. One of the workers, a middle aged woman called Jill (Ms. Kramer to them), had tried to make Katie eat her peas once.

They hadn't seen Ms. Kramer since the night Katie had poured the peas on the floor and ran to her room.

Katie liked to say that the Pea Monster ate her up that night. Sawyer verbally agreed with Katie when she said this, even though he knew that, in reality, she'd probably been fired for trying to force kids to eat horrible foods. It wasn't the first time she'd done this and besides, hadn't the kids at Safe Place been through enough?

The real story would be more powerful than the Pea Monster one. If you told it the right way, it could be twisted to mean that the staff liked Katie enough to fire people who got on her nerves.

Kind of.

"If he does, I'll hack him to death with his _scalpel_," she retorted, throwing the basketball aside on the lawn. "Look at me, I'm a big famous doctor and I like to cut people." She grabbed a few blades of grass from the ground, wielding them like a sword. "Hack, hack, you're dead!"

Sawyer snickered. "Send him to the Pea Monster."

Katie nearly fell over with laughter. "Then she'd kill him with her big teeth! And he wouldn't even have his scalpel to cut off her tongue."

"Eww. You're morbid, freckles."

"Morbid?"

Sawyer grinned. "You got a sick mind. You should be in some horror movie."

"The bad guy wouldn't have a _chance_!" she declared, picking up the ball and taking another shot.

This time, the ball made it through the hoop.

James and Katie didn't really hate Jack and Juliet as much as they let on. Secretly, Katie thought that Juliet was kind of pretty, with her long hair. She wondered if Juliet would let her braid it. She was pretty good at French braids.

It was just that, as Katie aptly observed, Juliet didn't really like Sawyer. Not that she hated him. She just preferred Katie. And Katie had heard her tell her husband that she only wanted to adopt one kid.

It wasn't fair. Katie knew that she wasn't going to live with her mom and stepfather again. Her mom would just let him hit her. Like she did with Katie. The court representative had told Katie that her home wasn't safe enough. That she had to be in an environment that was safer. That she might end up living with a better prepared family.

That was the exact phrase he'd used. "Better prepared." As though Katie had been unexpected, and it was her fault for being beaten. Also, for her mom being beaten. Katie had to live with another set of parents who knew not to beat their kids.

Or kid, as it turned out. Because even though they hadn't actually told Katie that they didn't want to adopt Sawyer (or James, as everyone called him), she could tell when adults were trying not to lie but also not telling the truth.

They'd adopt _her,_ sure. She was only seven. She was cute and (seemingly) well behaved and apparently spent every free minute playing with Barbie and Ken.

Sawyer, on the other hand, was twelve. He'd be moving to the teen house soon. He wasn't really a little kid. And people would look at him and think, "He's going to be difficult."

Not that Katie wasn't stubborn. But somehow, a stubborn seven year old seemed a lot more appealing than a sullen (as people referred to Sawyer) twelve year old. People liked that he spent time with Katie and tried to protect her, but they thought Katie would do better with a different friend.

No one had separated the two, exactly, but they wouldn't be sad when Katie had to leave Sawyer at Safe Place.

So, she just wouldn't go. She wasn't one for throwing tantrums, but she'd put her foot down. Either Sawyer was coming and was going to be adopted, or they wouldn't get her.

Even if they had been the only family to visit Safe Place within the time Katie had been there.

Katie had asked around, after she found out that Jack and Juliet were interested in adopting her, and discovered that she couldn't refuse to go and that was that. Even if she and Sawyer had been biological siblings, it wasn't an all or nothing deal. People _tried_ not to separate siblings, but it wasn't always possible. Likewise, Katie's feelings about her potential new adoptive parents had some value, but it wasn't the deciding factor.

Besides, she and Sawyer weren't really brother and sister. Sure, they spent a lot of time together, and Katie certainly looked up to Sawyer as an older brother. But they had only been at Safe Place together for less than a year. It was easy to argue that their bond occurred because there were not many people at Safe Place near to Katie's age. The two were friends, but Katie could make friends anywhere.

Then there was the abuse element. As far as the courts were concerned, Sawyer had been an unfortunate victim of several bad circumstances. His parents were dead (allegedly, his mother had been killed by his father, who then killed himself), and his grandparents died not long afterwards. He didn't have any other family who wanted to raise a preteen. So, the state had to take care of him until he turned eighteen. Adoption or foster parents were preferable, but as far as the courts were concerned, he didn't have any emotional trauma.

Katie, on the other hand, had been beaten by her father. Her biological mother, married to that man, had turned a blind eye to it. Partly because she may have been being beaten (evidence to this was uncertain, mostly because Katie's mother denied it and refused to be examined for past injuries). There was no intent to change. Katie's mother would not divorce, or even separate from, her husband. The danger to Katie was real and immediate. She _had_ to be removed from the situation. Therefore, she went to Safe Place. Ideally, though, she should be adopted by loving parents and be able to live out the remainder of her childhood normally.

Making Katie live with two people she did not like (however nice they seemed) without someone she had grown to view as family was not an ideal option. She could try to run away from this family, at the very least.

Jack and Juliet were somewhat aware of this situation. Moreover, Juliet liked Katie, and did not want to start their relationship with her denying her adoptive daughter something that she really cared about. Money wasn't really an issue: Jack and Juliet were both doctors, and could easily afford the expenses of raising two kids.

Moreover, Juliet had been aware that there was always some risk with adoption. If it was a baby, the mother could have been a drug addict. If it was a child, the child could have been in a hostile situation, hence the need for removal from that situation. Even if everything seemed fine, Juliet was well aware of the parents who went on the news declaring that their beloved seventeen year old boy was now a drug addict, a rapist, and a serial killer. Because, apparently, that gene had existed in his father's DNA. And, as it turned out, the boy's father had a violent history prior to impregnating the boy's mother.

Jack, who had been hands off about the whole situation, mostly left the decision to Juliet. _She_ had wanted kids, not him. _She_ was the one who couldn't get pregnant. _She_ was the one who was looking into adoption. Whatever she decided, they would make it work. In the meantime, he hoped that she would just make the decision and stick with it.

So, in the end, Juliet decided to adopt Sawyer (who she stubbornly called James) as well as Katie.

It ended up being a good decision for all involved. Jack discovered that he liked having a son. Katie had started out as somewhat of a tomboy, but not as much under Juliet's growing influence. Maybe it was her way of getting Sawyer and Jack to spend time together. They played sports together on weekends, and Jack sometimes took Sawyer fishing.

It also helped to have a built in babysitter when Juliet and Jack decided to take the evening off from parenting and go out to dinner.

(A/N: In this chapter, I make reference to a character from a horror movie series. The first person who correctly guesses the name of this movie will have a cameo in an upcoming chapter.)

Please read and review! Sawyer and Kate want you to.


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